


Eventide: A Study in Starlight

by DresdenG



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: CursedLore, Minecraft, Other, Platonic Relationships, Platovember, Platovember 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:00:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29613261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DresdenG/pseuds/DresdenG
Kudos: 9





	Eventide: A Study in Starlight

Dresden glanced up at the darkening sky with wary eyes, willing her feet to move faster as the sun approached the horizon. Her long, black hair swayed to and fro in the evening breeze. She had a little time, still, but no idea how much further she had to go. Neola should be close, shelter _should_ be close. She peered through the forest around as she sprinted along the path, hoping to see some sign of peaceful life through the trees. 

The deepening twilight cast long shadows over the dirt road in front of her, and she tightened her fingers around the handle of her stone axe. Discomfort twisted her insides. She could just wait out the night in a hole, but she never got any rest that way, and she wanted to _get there._

A sudden shout met her ears. “Oy! Hey!”

It came from behind her. A sign of civilization, perhaps? She hadn’t expected anyone to call out to her, and she certainly didn’t recognize the voice. Slowing her pace the young girl turned, violet eyes catching sight of a form not far off--back the way she’d come from. A figure clad in leather armor and carrying a crossbow. The colors of the armor were hard to make out even as she shielded her gaze from the slowly setting sun. 

“Who goes there?” she called, hating the waver in her voice. 

“I could ask the same of you. What’s your name, girl?” 

The twist in the approaching figure’s voice pressed nausea into her stomach. The accent sounded familiar, but the demeanor seemed off. None of the villagers she’d met on her journey sounded so...rough. 

“Dresden, ma’am,” she replied politely, only guessing the speaker was a woman. She still couldn’t _see_. She took a few steps back as the figure came forward, raising her axe in front of her. “That--that’s close enough until I get a name from you!”

The figure stopped, and a sudden, barking laugh came from behind Dresden. She felt the force of the laugh against her hair. She yelped, whirling around just in time to see another figure towering over her. Clearly a man, and much taller than the first, he stood directly behind her. How had she not heard him approach?

“Oh that’s cute,” the man snarled, and his hand shot out to grab her arm.

She dodged his greedy grasp, panic gripping her heart as she made a wild swing with her axe. One flat side clipped him on the hand, not hard enough to draw blood, but certainly enough to make him more angry. 

“She called me _ma’am_!” the first figure laughed, much closer now. She must have kept moving once Dresden shifted her focus to his larger companion. “What a polite little girl.”

The way she said ‘little girl’ made Dresden’s skin crawl. She spun to face the woman again, but didn’t make it all the way around before large, rough fingers curled into her hair and yanked her head backwards. She let out a pained shout, legs buckling as she tried to keep her balance. Eyes rolling desperately in their sockets, Dresden knew she didn’t have much time to wrench herself free.

Instead of pulling away from him, Dresden pushed off against the ground and threw her weight into the man who held her hair. She collided with his chest and heard the breath leave him at the impact. As his grip loosened she whipped her head to the side and darted away as fast as she could down the path. 

“Get back here!” screeched the woman as a crossbow bolt whizzed past Dresden’s head.

The girl ducked as she ran, but she could hear their footsteps catching up. _What do I do, what do I do?_ She couldn’t outrun them. Hunger and exhaustion would swiftly overtake her, and they seemed fresh and ready to go. She couldn’t dig down, there wouldn’t be time for that. 

A deep, warm voice from a faraway memory bubbled to the surface of her roiling thoughts. ‘Towering up is a key skill in your arsenal. Sometimes it can mean the difference between life and death.’ _I can do that. Okay. I can do that._

Dresden’s hand shot into her satchel, swapping her axe for the first block she could find. Granite. Skidding to a halt, she did her best to focus as another crossbow bolt shot past her, clipping the edge of her tunic. She leapt into the air, slapping the stone to the ground beneath her and landing on top of it. She glanced up for a moment to catch sight of her pursuers and looked away just as quickly. She needed to focus, to keep her balance, just like Uncle taught her.

She leapt up again, slamming one rock into the other with a loud crash that reverberated off the trees. The girl wobbled atop the tower, bending at the knees with as much hasty care as she could muster as she began widening her plateau, placing the granite around the outside of the pitiful tower to ward off her adversaries.  
“What in blazes--!” the man shouted as he and his companion drew up to the haphazard structure.

“A Builder? _Really_ Markus, of all the fool ideas you’ve ever had!”

“Shut your mouth,” he snarled back. 

Dresden stood crouched in the middle of her small, safe space, clenching a block of granite in both hands as the realization of her narrow escape fully dawned on her. Sweat trickled down her back, chilling in the brisk evening air. 

The sound of a bell ringing in the distance drew her attention, and the attention of her pursuers as well. Laughter leaked out of them, and she watched, relieved, as they began to move away. 

The man--Markus, she assumed--looked over his shoulder at her with dull eyes. “You’d better be glad we have more important things to do now than fuss with a girl like you. If I ever catch you crossin’ our territory again, you’ll be sorry.”

Dresden kept her mouth pressed into a thin line, doing her best not to betray her fear at hearing those words. 

As they moved away, their matching leather armor illuminated only by faint moonlight, the sound of the bell connected the dots, and Dresden collapsed from her crouch and sat on the top of her tower, dumbfounded.

A raid. 

_Pillagers._

She drew her knees up to her chest and curled in on herself as the sounds of nighttime monsters began to fill the forest. Growls and hisses echoed in the darkness as the creatures moved forward, investigating her meager defense. They poked and prodded at it, but wouldn’t be able to get to her. 

Dresden laid down, still curled in a ball, and stared up at the night sky. Distant screams mixed with the clanging bell met her ears, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

This would be a long night. 

  
  
  
  



End file.
